Ramadan 1447AH Asking Ar-Rahman Series Day 2: Tawbah Before Asking — Dr. Abioye Ibraheem

Every human being sins.

What defines us is not the fall, but the return.

Allaah calls out with a mercy that no heart should ever despair from:

“O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Surely, Allaah forgives all sins. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.”

(Qur’an 39:53)

And He invites the believers again:

“O you who believe, turn to Allaah in sincere repentance…”

(Qur’an 66:8)

Within this call lies a breathtaking promise — forgiveness, purification, and ultimately Paradise.

Ramadan is the month of duʿā’.

But before asking Ar-Rahman for what we desire, we must first remove what blocks the asking.

One of the greatest barriers is continuing in sin without seeking forgiveness.

The Prophet ﷺ described a man on a long journey — tireåd, dusty, raising his hands to the sky crying, “O Lord, O Lord.”

Yet:

“…his food is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, his clothing is unlawful, and he has been nourished by the unlawful. So how can he be answered?”

(Sahih Muslim)

Duʿā’ without tawbah is like knocking on a door

while still insisting on walking away.

Prophet Nuh عليه السلام told his people:

“Seek forgiveness of your Lord; indeed, He is ever Forgiving.

He will send rain upon you in abundance

and give you wealth and children…”

(Qur’an 71:10–12)

Forgiveness does not only erase sin.

It opens the heavens and unlocks relief on earth.

The Conditions of True Tawbah

Scholars summarized sincere repentance into three essential steps:

1. Acknowledge and abandon the sin

No excuses. No minimising. No blaming.

Adam and Hawwa said:

“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.”

(Qur’an 7:23)

Yunus عليه السلام, in layers of darkness, confessed:

“There is no deity except You; glory be to You. Indeed, I was among the wrongdoers.”

(Qur’an 21:87)

Recognition is the beginning of return.

Repentance cannot live where persistence remains.

2. Feel genuine regret

The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Regret is repentance.”

(Sunan Ibn Majah — Hasan)

Regret is not self-hatred.

It is moral clarity — a heart awake enough to feel the distance from Allah.

If the heart feels nothing,

tawbah has not yet matured.

3. Resolve never to return

Allaah describes the people of forgiveness as those who:

“…when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves, remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins — and who can forgive sins except Allaah? — and they do not persist knowingly.”

(Qur’an 3:135)

Repentance is not “I will try.”

It is “I choose Allaah over this.”

Even if weakness returns later, what matters is that

at the moment of tawbah, the resolve was sincere.

True repentance is not silent self-correction.

It is a verbal and spiritual turning back to Allaah.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

Allaah stretches out His hand at night to accept the repentance of the one who sinned by day, and He stretches out His hand by day to accept the repentance of the one who sinned by night, until the sun rises from the west.”

(Sahih Muslim)

And the Prophet ﷺ himself sought forgiveness constantly,

despite already being forgiven.

If he sought it daily,

what of us?

If a sin involved another person, repentance also requires

restoring rights, seeking pardon, and repairing harm.

Without this, tawbah remains incomplete.

This Ramadan, Clear the Channel

Before asking for success… marriage… children… relief… acceptance…

Pause and ask:

What sin have I normalized?

What habit have I excused?

Whose right have I neglected?

Where do I persist knowingly?

Then take the path of return:

Admit.

Stop.

Regret.

Resolve.

Seek forgiveness.

And then — ask Ar-Rahman.

Ask with confidence.

Ask with hope.

Because the One who invites you to repent

is the same One who invites you

to call upon Him.

And no heart that truly returns to Allaah

is ever turned away.